The Saving Country Music 2022 Artist of the Year

The Saving Country Music Artist of the Year is not about who sold the most tickets or left the biggest footprint, or who shattered the expectations and possibilities of independent artists that are not played on mainstream country radio. It’s about the artist who most embodied the spirit of of the idea behind “saving country music.” In 2022, it just happens to be that all of those accomplishments are empirically true for this particular artist.
We will look back on 2022 as being a landmark year in the fight to return the power of country music back to the artists, and back to the people—where a performer like Zach Bryan positively shattered our conceptions of what was possible by an artist existing outside of the Music Row system, and challenged that power structure like never before. It was a year when even a band like the Turnpike Troubadours that spent the previous years in hiatus returned to such a ferocious reception, they were selling out arenas by the end of the cycle.
Both of these artists were also considered for this distinction, but despite their incredible years, they may still just be getting started with what they have in store. Meanwhile, both the International Bluegrass Music Association, as well as the Americana Music Association in 2022 chose Billy Strings as their Artist of the Year. And at the risk of coming off as unimaginative or safe, I simply have to concur. 2022 is the year of Billy Strings.
Similar to 2021’s Artist of the Year Charley Crockett, Billy Strings illustrated his respect and support for the roots of the music in a very direct way in 2022. In 2021, Charley Crockett released a tribute to country troubadour James Hand, helping to boost the underground country legend’s status and name recognition. In 2022 as Strings achieved arena-level status and shattered all barriers for what we’d expect for a bluegrass musician in this lifetime or any other, he didn’t take the moment to cash in, but to pay tribute to the bluegrass greats of the past, and to elevate his father who taught him the art form.
Me / And / Dad isn’t just an album. Since it’s full of covers and standards, it was never going to compete with the top titles in country and Americana for top end-of-year distinction, or become especially commercially successful. That wasn’t the point. The point was to establish what bluegrass is in the modern context, and that Billy Strings—despite all the interludes and improvisations—is a bluegrass musician at heart.
What does it take to save country music? It takes proving to audiences that the roots of the genre can remain relevant today, and even in their most pure forms. It takes making these sounds and modes of country and bluegrass cool to a new generation so it will sustain into the future. It also takes understanding that for the music to survive, it also can’t remain static. It must remain grounded in its roots, but while also undergoing innovation to push it positively forward. When trying to think of another name that shouldered that difficult challenge and exceeded expectations more than Billy Strings in 2022, the mind falters.
Molly Tuttle and some others also are coming up in the bluegrass discipline, and promise to backstop what Billy Strings is doing to make this movement broad based, sustainable, and long-lasting. And as we’ve always suspected from the very beginning of Billy’s career, there’s a chance he may jump the rails of bluegrass at some point, and venture off into to the unknown of music like Béla Fleck and others have done in the past, while the number of hippies, wooks, and Rastafarian kids in Billy’s audiences have some bluegrass aficionados curious, and sometimes, worried.
But in 2022, Billy Strings did exactly what you want from your favorite country and bluegrass artists. He didn’t just not let you down, he unequivocally rose to your expectations, took bluegrass to the arena level, while also booking more intimate shows interspersed throughout his itinerary to stay connected to his most loyal fans. Because of course that’s what Billy Strings would do for you.
The challenge for Billy Strings, the Turnpike Troubadours, Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers and the like is not finding the sustainability to endure anymore, but finding enough seats in venues to facilitate all the people who want to see them. This presents a new set of challenges that the independent side of country and roots music is grappling with. But it’s a good problem to have compared to the alternative. And it’s one that Billy Strings will help lead us through, just like he’s led bluegrass out of the shadows of popular country to prove once again that bluegrass is really damn cool, as it always has been.
Not bad for a boy and his guitar.

December 26, 2022 @ 8:55 am
No disagreement here.
December 26, 2022 @ 9:18 am
Top notch, humble genuine dude. Billy’s put in the time and deserves all the accolades. He’s not a social media creation and has appeal across multiple generations. One helluva musician, seems like an even better human being.
December 26, 2022 @ 9:32 am
I’ll never forget seeing the dust in a baggie youtube video back in 2019-2020 and thinking, “wow, this guy should be famous.” Awesome to see his insane success, and moreover, he seems like the coolest dude of all time. Me/and/dad introduced me to bluegrass standards i never would have heard otherwise. Great pick.
PSA: The runner-up for this award was Jeremy Pinnell because his last album “Goodbye LA” rips really hard in a pleasurable manner
December 26, 2022 @ 9:36 am
Well deserved. I can’t recall the last time I had such a “band crush”. Get the chance to close out the year with them in New Orleans!!!
December 26, 2022 @ 9:37 am
Sometimes the obvious choice is the best one. Billy more than deserves this acknowledgement. And coming from the bluegrass camp makes it even more eventful and meaningful.
Now, if Billy would come on here and post a big “thank you” that would be icing on the cake.
December 26, 2022 @ 10:32 am
Excellent.
Great choice.
December 26, 2022 @ 11:27 am
Plenty to choose from but I agree with the choice. What an incredible year he has had and what a great artist.m
December 26, 2022 @ 11:33 am
Deservedly so!
December 26, 2022 @ 12:01 pm
I was thinking Billy Strings would be the recipient in the early fall. Then recent events like the Red Rocks concert, Yellowstone affiliation, and President Obama’s year end list had me thinking Zach Bryan was going to be winner.
You definitely spelled out a sound argument for Billy Strings in your article. Was this the hardest year to choice?
December 26, 2022 @ 1:44 pm
Zach Bryan most certainly had one hell of a year, and I wouldn’t argue too hard with anyone who makes the case that he is as good or a better “Artist of the Year” than Billy Strings. But even though I AM willing to argue with anyone who decrees that Zach Bryan is not country (and do regularly), I also agree that Zach Bryan is not the perfect specimen for a “country” artist. He’s still more country than anything else, and if Billy Strings hadn’t enjoyed an incredible year as well, Zach probably would have won it. But Billy Strings checked all the boxes this year in a way that I think is just hard to ignore. As astounding of a year as Zach had, he still may be searching for his ceiling.
December 26, 2022 @ 1:32 pm
Hard to argue, what a talent. My favorite acoustic guitar player since Tony Rice.
December 26, 2022 @ 1:57 pm
I’m almost getting tired of hearing about this guy.
And I guess, in my own way, I’m afraid of what this represents
Maybe I’m still sore about bro country, when country music became the major main stream commercial genre that want to be superstars Cashed in on
But we were just getting past all of that, and along comes this guy, and all of a sudden all of the Starbucks, UGG boots basic white girls think that bluegrass is cool
And I don’t want there to be casual Bluegrass fans. Casual fans are health things get ruined, taken apart, ironed away from what was special about them.
Don’t believe me? Look at fire emblem. Despite poor sales, it was one of the best written, most epic RPG franchise, with an incredible balance, that required a lot of tactics and difficult mechanics.
And all of a sudden the anime dating crowd found out about it, and now the strategy element has been polished out, the permanent death mechanic is removed in favor of installing a casual mode, and the characters flat out look ridiculous
We barely started scraping country music back from the pit that Luke, Bryan and Florida Georgia Line put it in
Now there’s gonna be 1 billion Bluegrass interlopers cashing in on the Billy strings HypeTrain,
I don’t want Bluegrass to become popular or well known. I wanted to stay the same, because if it changes, then I’m going to lose it forever.
I’ve never cared what other people listen to, I only care about what I listen to. And if everybody else would just stay in their lane, and listen to what they like, and leave me to listen to what I like, the world would be a better place.
And making Bluegrass the happening thing to play isn’t going to be good for country music, it is going to be good for what this website in bodies, and it isn’t going to be good for Bluegrass fans
It’s just going to mean the Florida Georgia Line reunion starts off with a ‘bluegrass album’
Pabst blue moon of Kentucky, anyone?
December 26, 2022 @ 2:36 pm
Just light up, sit back and enjoy the jams….
December 26, 2022 @ 2:43 pm
The concern about the fandom for Billy Strings and bluegrass becoming intertwined with white girls in UGG boots and Florida Georgia Line fans I think is misplaced. What is swelling Billy’s numbers is the massive grassroots jam band network seeded during the final years of the Grateful Dead, carried on by Phish, and that’s been sort of a diaspora for the last decade or so. These are the folks who are infiltrating Billy Strings shows in massive numbers, and making country/bluegrass fans feel like a fish (or Phish?) out of water. I tell people to just ignore the hippie hand dancing and (sometimes) smell, and go see Billy MF Strings because it’s worth it. These are still grassroots music fans, and folks who respect music on a deeper level. Billy will always be too weird for the passive music fan.
December 26, 2022 @ 4:02 pm
First off, great pick nobody deserves artist of the year more. But I also selfishly worry about the mainstream ruining my favorite artists but you’re right. There’s way more of the jam crowd taking over Billy’s shows than so called white girls in ugg boots. At first I was the fish out of water, but anymore I’ve come to appreciate the jam scene more and more and that’s thanks to Billy. Hell, even some older stuff from The Dead is arguably some of the best bluegrass/country/blues ever written. The truth is Billy may be more like Jerry Garcia than some country superstar and I’m perfectly fine with that.
December 26, 2022 @ 4:10 pm
Del Fest was 70% Deadhead/ hippie crowd. They are flocking to bluegrass and traveling the country attending bluegrass festivals.
We were definitely “phish” out of water. But, they are great people to hang with who appreciate the music and each other.
December 26, 2022 @ 4:37 pm
Women ruin everything, don’t we.
December 28, 2022 @ 9:40 am
Don’t we?
December 26, 2022 @ 6:04 pm
I’ve seen him and Pittsburgh and Cleveland and both shows were 70-80% Deadheads. But even if it were the FGL crowd, who cares? Bro-country didn’t ruin country music for me. As this site has shown for years, country can survive trends and there will always be music for us. Regarding FGL, or Creed or Nickelback for that matter…. It’s easy to make jokes about them, but I think people should be able to enjoy what they like. Popularity will never kill a genre. Sure, I have to clarify that I love country music, “but not that kind,” when asked what music I like, but I hope Billy gets as many fans as he can because he’s a generational talent.
December 26, 2022 @ 6:06 pm
This is mostly a good comment from Fuzzlita. What I think he gets wrong is he throws in a ‘Pabst’ mention, which is a reference to Hipsterism, in a comment where he’s concerned about Bluegrass being infiltrated by suburban women. Fuzz is conflating mainstream interloping with hipster interloping.
Ugg boots = mainstream. Audience: suburban women
Pabst = hipsterism. Audience: hipsters
If Trigger is right, and it’s hippies (totally different from hipsters), then I don’t think Bluegrass fans have too much to worry about. I get what Fuzz is saying though. Almost everything in life is better when it’s not for the masses.
On a side note, Fuzz has openly supported hipster acts like Hedley and Romano in the past, so I was surprised to see the “Pabst” mention.
December 26, 2022 @ 9:36 pm
Damn, I’m over here waitin to hear which ones the communists are in this scenario….
December 27, 2022 @ 6:25 am
Don’t soil the good name of the communists in this scenario. These guys are more like Taliban – hate women, diversity, and evolution.
December 27, 2022 @ 1:44 pm
Communists have no good name and they have killed scores of millions more than the Taliban.
They are both groups of human devolution.
December 26, 2022 @ 7:09 pm
Correct.
It is always watered down when the masses become involved.
December 27, 2022 @ 7:58 am
Fuzzy, there is some truth to your point about the interlopers swarming to Strings concerts. As Hoptown and others rightly acknowledge, it’s the jamgrass crowd indeed. Think what you want about the jamgrass crowd, but they do appreciate talent and virtuosity when they hear it. Billy Strings IS all that.
Yet, your concern should be tempered by this thought: there continue to be numerous traditional bluegrass shows and fests all over the south and the Midwest that remain the domain of a small but enthusiastic and passionate crowd of mainly traditional minded, music fans. I’m referring to the small fests that are everywhere if you know where to look, but get thankfully missed by the masses. You tend to get headliners like Doyle Lawson, Russell Moore, Larry Sparks, Joe Mullins and Radio Ramblers, and so many more…I personally like to do a few of these type fests each year and have never found them to be overrun with newly minted interloper. I’m probably an interloper myself at such events as I’m typically more open minded than most at these traditional music events. ( oh the horror, I actually listen to other music besides grass 24 hrs a day!)
As for the sold out Billy Strings shows, let the masses enjoy it. Congrats to him, he’s earned all the accolades and rightly so.
December 27, 2022 @ 8:36 am
As we saw back in the 2000s with the success of “O Brother Where Art Thou,” a rising tide in bluegrass raises all boats. It’s not like Sam Hunt fans who are Sam Hunt fans and don’t really care for country music, people who get into bluegrass fall head first into it, and tend to enjoy the entire genre, seek out other artists, go to the local festivals, and buy a banjo. Radio might start playing Zach Bryan and the Turnpike Troubadours. They’re never going to play Billy Strings or Doyle Lawson, so they’re dependent on this grassroots support.
December 27, 2022 @ 2:50 pm
“I’ve never cared what other people listen to, I only care about what I listen to.”
And yet you’ve just expended 14 paragraphs clutching your pearls over what other people might hypothetically listen to.
December 26, 2022 @ 2:01 pm
Congratulations to Billy. I probably would’ve chosen differently, but can’t argue with the choice.
December 26, 2022 @ 3:37 pm
An excellent choice, great musician, willing to take risks like an album with his dad ( what father wouldnt be blessed to do an album with his son), and helping to continue to grow bluegrass.
Fine represntative of 2022!
December 26, 2022 @ 3:39 pm
I think Marcus King deserves a look. Dude blew my mind this year
December 26, 2022 @ 4:02 pm
Quite an honor for him, I’d say, to get your (Trigger) declaration.
I agree with your choice.
December 26, 2022 @ 8:27 pm
I’m sure this will be right up there with the Grammys for Billy. ????
December 26, 2022 @ 4:29 pm
Probably very good live buy his album just isn’t anything special!
December 26, 2022 @ 4:55 pm
If Zach Bryan had not waited until Christmas Day to drop his new live album, “All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster,” he may have won this award.
December 26, 2022 @ 6:10 pm
I definitely factored that in, and it did make this decision a bit more difficult, but I still think it is the right one. I will have something on Zach’s album here real soon. I wanted to take the time to listen to it and regard it no different than any other album, and believe it or not, I do have a life beyond this website. I’m not rearranging Christmas for Zach Bryan or anyone else.
December 26, 2022 @ 7:17 pm
I love your stuff and your choice. I also realize a large % of readers here don’t like Zach Bryan, but my man sold out all his shows, released 35ish original songs and a live album. He’s my artist of the year!
December 27, 2022 @ 5:55 am
I don’t think this is true. If Trig had a poll and everyone voted once, I bet 75-80% of SCM readers have a favorable opinion of Zach Bryan.
It’s the same 6-8 miserable people posting the same comment every Zach Bryan story making you think the loud minority is the rule.
December 27, 2022 @ 8:31 am
I think hoptowntiger is right.
December 27, 2022 @ 9:28 am
I’m one of the 20-25% who don’t get what all the hubbub around Zach Bryan is all about. He just doesn’t do it for me, period, but to each their own. I reckon he’s better than Kane Brown, or Morgan Wallen, but I’d rather go see Ian Noe with a few hundred people.
December 26, 2022 @ 7:46 pm
Have no problem with strings winning. I’m not a big fan though I do need to sit down and listen to the album with his dad. Hard to believe you didn’t go with Bryan as much as you rave on him . I’m definitely not a fan of him. Funny though how people were talking about strings becoming popular and that it would lessen bluegrass yet fail to see or at least mention that Bryan’s popularity is probably already lessening country music.
December 26, 2022 @ 7:59 pm
I’ve seen the guy 9 times in 12 months and was blown away every time. He’s got hundreds of thousands of young people all across the country (and now Europe, too) singing Jimmy Martin (and Bill Monroe, Larry Sparks, Stanley Brothers, etc.) songs at the top of their lungs. If that’s not saving country music I don’t know what is!
December 26, 2022 @ 9:15 pm
Well deserved.
December 27, 2022 @ 2:51 am
Saving folk music.
December 27, 2022 @ 8:33 am
This is the comment you leave if Zach Bryan won. Billy Strings is clearly bluegrass, which is clearly a subset and root origin of country.
December 27, 2022 @ 8:51 am
Zach didn’t win? I confess I didn’t read it all as it seemed to be leading up to more discussion of American Heartbreak, an album which is deserving of its plaudits but I’ve read so much about it now I don’t think there’s much more to be said. That’ll teach me to not finish the article!
December 27, 2022 @ 7:50 am
He’s this generation’s Bela Fleck. Equally meandering and self important. Bad choice this year Kyle.
December 27, 2022 @ 8:05 pm
100 percent agree with this.
December 27, 2022 @ 7:59 am
I love that Billy won and I think Trigger makes a compelling argument him. I don’t get the backlash to bluegrass getting any mainstream attention. The cycle for these genres (bluegrass, folk, blues, etc.) goes, oh no! We have no young people playing! The genre is dying. We need fresh blood. Then young musicians actually revitalizes the genre and the same people who claimed to want fresh faces on stage complain about “normies” in the audience.
Criticize artists who gain indie popularity then become lazy songwriters after mainstream success. Don’t criticize the suburbanites or hipsters or teenagers or whatever for liking some music. Let people enjoy some damn tunes.
December 27, 2022 @ 8:38 am
As I always say, the worst thing for an independent artist is success, because fans start turning on them even if the music stays the same. We’re seeing this more in 2022 than ever with the success so many artists are achieving, including Billy Strings.
December 27, 2022 @ 10:48 pm
This makes me think of the hilarious article you did on the “fan” turning on Sturgill Simpson a few years ago, once he experienced some success.
December 27, 2022 @ 11:06 am
My wife and I went to his Renewal festival in September and it was the highlight of a year in which we saw pretty much everyone who’s anyone in “underground” country (should we really be using that term anymore?).
The connection this guy has with his fans is incredible and lasting. The Ryman shows were brilliant (I listen on Nugs.net) and I cannot wait to hear his upcoming fishing songs collaboration with Les “Primus” Claypool.
We’re breaking the bank to go to Under the Big Sky this summer but if he does another Renewal, we may have to stage a heist!
December 27, 2022 @ 1:09 pm
One time I commented on a post “yikes the tickets are super expensive” and Billy Strings called me out and ripped my head off. <3
December 27, 2022 @ 1:35 pm
He’s an arrogant little shit. Call it Joe Bonamassa syndrome. In 10 years I guarantee people will be saying “Whatever happened to that guy?” He’ll always have a career doing PBS pledge drives I guess…
December 27, 2022 @ 7:23 pm
Good choice. His Halloween show was one of the top 5 concerts I’ve been to. He kicked ass always but the way fans were in it and everything it was one of those “had to be there” moments
December 28, 2022 @ 5:47 am
George strait and Allen Jackson were right
MURDER ON MUSIC ROW.
This should be another type of music .
It should be called Hickhop.
This shit isn’t country . The people in Nashville would sell a shit sandwich if people would buy it. Real country artist aren’t givin the credit anymore. Ray wylie hubbard David allen coe never got the recognition because they didn’t bow to the woke producers. Go listen to some real country . I go to YouTube and listen to these people and it’s all cookie cutter . Enjoy your woke music
December 28, 2022 @ 7:59 am
Oh great. The guy on Facebook who says everything he doesn’t recognize is “hick hop” figured out how to post a comment here.
Ask David ALLAN Coe how he feels about hick hop. He’ll tell you it’s awesome, and that he invented it.
December 28, 2022 @ 1:07 pm
Who else? Will be seeing him this Fri in New Orleans. Can’t wait!
December 29, 2022 @ 8:41 am
I’ve still not been able to get into Mr. Strings. But my wife loves him and got tickets to two of his shows in February. Maybe seeing him live will put me on the path. Guess I’ll know soon.
December 29, 2022 @ 8:58 am
Billy Strings live what is driving all of this. It is a live phenomenon. His albums are great too, but seeing him live is the only way to understand what all the hype is about. He is the best live performer in all country and roots at the moment.
January 3, 2023 @ 6:51 am
So, why does he change the lyrics of this well known song at 1:30? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFHVOuKS8-8
There are other clues if you are willing to see them (check out his Twitter Christmas photos) but he is not the man many of you think he is.
January 3, 2023 @ 8:52 pm
You’re going to have to say what you mean. He didn’t even post anything on Twitter on Christmas and it’s hard to hear what he’s saying in the live video. What are you talking about?
January 7, 2023 @ 10:30 pm
Billy’s saviour and the reason he didn’t sing it proud like Hank did: https://twitter.com/billystrings/status/1209527640039796738?lang=en
January 8, 2023 @ 7:54 am
I don’t want to know how out of touch you have to be to think that those pictures mean Billy praises satan. The live video sounds like he forgets the lyrics and slurs through them and is embarrassed. I don’t know what tell you about the pictures. Nothing will change your mind. I think Billy’s actions speak for themself. He’s a good dude who does lots of good to the world. If you think a simple joke makes him a dirty satanist then I don’t know what to tell you.
January 8, 2023 @ 10:07 am
He didn’t forget the words. Just can’t bring himself to say them.